IR cameras provide night surveillance. Of these, waterproof models made of aluminum IP 65 casings, those with grooved sides that enable heat dissipation and those with constant current regulators are popular. To prolong camera life, vendors like Yes and New Tech Source have launched dual CCD IR cameras to prevent overheating, thus overcoming bleed and fade problems.

Take the Yes PA-99. It is equipped with a one-third-inch Sony HAD SuperCCD, Sony black-white EXview CCDs and 16-millimeter lenses with f=1.2and 420 TVL (black-white). Users can clearly see target movements anddetails to 40 meters on the display monitor. The PA-99 features a well-designed housing and IR LED array (30 IR LEDs). Meanwhile, the PA-99 IR camera has a stable dual-CCD and PCB design for day and night image shifts.

New Tech Source's NT-5070C IR waterproof double CCD camera has double CCDs and lenses to take the best images during the day or at night. It comes with a varifocal lens (eight millimeters to 22 millimeters). Focus can be adjusted outside the casing. It also benefits from easy installation and maintenance, an elegant appearance, lightweight construction and ease of operation. It features one-third-inch Sony Super HAD CCDs for 480 TVL (color) and one-third-inch Sony Ex-view CCDs for 600 TVL (black-white). Radiant distance is to 70 meters at night. For regular box-type IR cameras, check out Yuxin and New Tech Source. For PTZ systems with night view capability, Minking excels. For IR dome cameras, look to Success.

Yuxin's CF-640C/OSD IR camera features one-third-inch Sony CCDs and 520 horizontal resolution with an OSD control menu, waterproofing and mirror functions. It comes with 36 IR LEDs (radiant distance up to 50 meters) and a varifocal (four millimeters to nine millimeters) and auto iris lens. It supports four privacy zone settings, 64 motion detection areas and 12 BLC zones. It works in temperatures from -20 to 50 degrees Celsius within RH outdoor environment (85 percent); dimensions are 226 millimeters by 83 millimeters by 83 millimeters.

New Tech Source's NT-1050B IR waterproof and vandalproof camera comes with a varifocal lens (3.5 millimeters to eight millimeters). Focus can be adjusted outside the casing. It is vandalproof and waterproof and features one-third-inch Sony super HAD CCDs with 540 TVL. Camera cables pass through the metal bracket for easy installation. Then, the MG-TK35-R IP66 has multiple features such as box camera, speed dome and IR illumination. The t-shaped intelligent IR speed dome has an infrared system on the left, box camera on the right and scanning system in the middle. The infrared system uses 850-nanometer high-brightness LEDs, which last an average of 20,000 hours. Projection distance is to 120 meters. LED lamps are also capable of auto and manual control with low power consumption (four volts). The MG-TK35-R6 also offers zoom options (18x, 26x and 36x) with embedded one-fourth-inch Sony CCDs plus 480 TVL horizontal resolution and 0.01 lowest lux to ensure image quality.

Manual pan/tilt configurable speed enables fast object positioning and tracking. The MG-TK35-R features 16 communication protocols and adjustable baud rate that is very compatible with other systems. Users can choose from simple or vehicle installation. The latter comes with shock absorbers to reduce vibration and interference from weather.

Finally, Success' TS-3600 series of IR dome cameras feature selectable lenses (3.6, six, eight and 12 millimeters) and flexible CCD customization. Radiant distance is to 25 meters (with 18 IR LEDs). When the infrared lamp is on, maximum power consumption is 450 mA and IR illumination is more than three dB.